Get rail tickets from the Rail Europe website before leaving the United States. You can only buy tickets from Rail Europe before you leave the US as they have to mail your train pass or tickets to you. An advantage to buying from Rail Europe is that you are able to make your purchase in US dollars. On the Rail Europe site you can buy point to point rail tickets or you can buy a rail pass. Rail passes are available that cover single countries as well as multiple countries. Passes vary in price and days of use.

Buy train tickets in person at a train station in Europe. Ticket machines as well as staffed ticket windows are available at train stations so that you can purchase your tickets on the spot. If you have questions about a connection or your travel you should go to one of the windows. Do not expect the train station clerk to be able to speak English. It is a good idea to have a translation dictionary with you if you do not speak the local language.

Book a seat on the Eurostar train if you are traveling to Italy from the United Kingdom. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Eurostar.com or on the Rail Europe website. The Eurostar is a high speed train that goes from London to Paris, France in just over two hours. The train also takes travelers to Brussels, Belgium. The Eurostar travels in the Channel Tunnel, which is under the English Channel. From Paris or Brussels you can take another train into Italy. Tickets can be purchased at the train station to get you the rest of the way to Italy or you can use a rail pass if you have one.

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The Mayan Arch, Ball Court - Copan Ruinas, Honduras by Adal-Honduras

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South Africa car rental companies include:

• Around About Cars
• Avis
• Budget
• Europcar
• Hertz
• Imperial
• Tempest

You can also book rental cars in South Africa on sites like Expedia or Travelocity.

In South Africa they do drive on the left; like they do on the United Kingdom. Road conditions in South Africa are excellent. Other drivers will be your biggest concern as the road accident and death rate is quite high at 10,000 to 15,000 deaths from road accidents each year.

Petrol stations in South Africa do not have self-service. Instead they are full service and you are expected to tip around $0.50 when you get your tank filled.

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Autumn in South Africa by geoftheref

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You just might be able to get a free upgrade on that rental car!

Here are some tips on how you can get a complimentary upgrade on your rental car.

Look on the websites of all the rental car agencies to see if they have any free upgrade offers or coupon codes. If you can’t find any there try the forums at Fat Wallet and Slick Deals.

Order up an Entertainment Book ( Take an incredible 50% off all Entertainment Books plus get free shipping from 3/1/10-3/14/10! ) for the city you are visiting. Not only will you score some local coupons but also some national coupons for car rental agencies. One of those coupons just might be for a free upgrade.

Get yourself a credit card that has car rental upgrades as a perk. The American Express Platinum Card gives you free Hertz #1 Club Gold membership privileges. And that gets you complimentary rental car upgrades every time.

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Cruise Ships in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands by blmiers2

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** Check hotel chain websites for unadvertised specials. For example, for Hilton chain hotels, which includes Hampton Inn and Doubletree hotels, go to the Hilton website at Hilton.com to see if there are any cheap deals going on. Often the best prices on hotel chain websites require prepayment so be sure to check the rate details before booking a room.

** Look for special discount offers on the Travelzoo website, which is a site that specializes in offer the best travel deals available. Usually the discounts you will see on Travelzoo are only available for a certain number of hotel rooms or you have to book by a certain date. This means that if you do not book early you could miss out on a deal. For example, hotel deals posted the last week of February 2010 include 40 percent off the nightly rates at a four-star hotel in Prague, almost 70 percent off the nightly rates at a St. Lucia resort and 50 percent off nights at the famous four-star Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

** Bid on a hotel room using Priceline.com. With Priceline’s “Name You Own Price” option you can enter in the amount that you want to pay for a room and see if any hotels accept your bid. The way that this works is that you enter in your destination and preferred area to stay in and the star-rating you want the hotel to have. You enter in your payment details and place your bid. If you bid is accepted you are charged in full for the hotel booking immediately. Only then is the name of the hotel revealed to you.

** Use Hotwire.com to get a cheap hotel room. Hotwire.com is a little different from Priceline as you are shown results for the city that you search for a hotel room in and you can see the star rating as well as amenities at the hotel. You do not see the name of the hotel until you pay. A quick look at BetterBidding.com to see previous Hotwire.com users results can help you to decode the listing and figure out which hotels you are looking at. Once you pay for your hotel the name of it is revealed to you.

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Pishtaqs at Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis, Samarkand, Uzbekistan by themanwithsalthair

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Polignano, Bari, Italy by Paolo Màrgari

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Inverness Castle, Scotland by conner395

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